Astrophysicist, host of National Geographic Channel’s StarTalk, and author of the show’s first companion book, out this month

ByNeil deGrasse Tyson on September 14, 2016

“A glass of fine aged Burgundy from Vosne-Romanée can be transcendent. I have laid awake at night still experiencing the wine on my palate, wondering how a liquid substance could be so haunting to my senses. I pair it with Roquefort, crackers, and a few dried cranberries. I like to read my old science books by candlelight. It allows me to commune through time with those who read the book before electricity. One I turn to often is Christiaan Huygens’s Celestial Worlds Discover’d; I own the first English translation, from 1698. In it, the Dutch polymath theorizes on what the atmospheres and surfaces of known planets might be like. I keep a collection of fountain pens, which I use to write speeches. Two favorites are a quill pen and a Caelum, by Pelikan, which has the solar system across its barrel.”